Successful Artists Quotes

• I didn't become a commercially successful artist by design, and actually I think that commercially successful just means, if you analyse it, that a lot of people like you. It's become a dirty word, and I don't necessarily think it needs to be.

  Phil Collins

  Dirty, Mean, Successful

  Source: www.theguardian.com

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• I've had far more success than I ever expected. But I do think that a lot of successful artists have an aim to be successful, even if they don't outwardly sound like it. I never really expected success.

  Jim Shaw

  Successful, Artist, Thinking

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• A successful artist of any kind has to work so hard that she is justified in refusing to lay down her sceptre until she is placed on the bier.

  Edith Evans

  Successful, Artist, Kind

  "Dame Edith Evans, Ned's girl". Book by Bryan Forbes, Chapter 13, 1977.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• Every successful artist comes from a family - parents or siblings or both - who, although equally gifted, chose not to pursue the treacherous and difficult path of the artist.

  Chris Abani

  Sibling, Successful, Artist

  4 Copy quote

• The art of compromise centers on the willingness to give up something in order to get something else in return. Successful artists get more than they give up.

  Howard Raiffa

  Art, Giving Up, Successful

  Howard Raiffa (1982). “The Art and Science of Negotiation”, p.142, Harvard University Press

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• Success for an artist is completed work. Very successful artists complete a lot of work. It's that simple.

  Paul Russo

  Successful, Artist, Simple

  4 Copy quote

• What an artist does, is fail. Any reading of the literature, (I mean the literature of artistic creation), however summary, will persuade you instantly that the paradigmatic artistic experience is that of failure. The actualization fails to meet, equal, the intuition. There is something "out there" which cannot be brought "here". This is standard. I don't mean bad artists, I mean good artists. There is no such thing as a "successful artist" (except, of course, in worldly terms).

  Donald Barthelme

  Art, Reading, Mean

  "The Sandman". "Sadness". Book by Donald Barthelme, 1972.

  10 Copy quote

  Show source

• One does not have to be a philosopher to be a successful artist, but he does have to be an artist to be a successful philosopher. His nature is to view the world in an unpredictable albeit useful light.

  Criss Jami

  Successful, Artist, Light

  Criss Jami (2015). “Killosophy”, p.94, Criss Jami

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• A successful artist is inspired by his muse, and his muse is inspired by the payment of a commission.

  Robert Breault

  Successful, Artist, Inspired

  7 Copy quote

• In the world of comics, Jack Kirby and Will Eisner may have been more influential artists, but Joe Kubert was its most influential man. Even if he were to be remembered solely for his body of illustration work, he’d still be one of the greats, but by opening the Kubert School in 1976, he was able to personally mentor and educate literally thousands of successful artists who owe their careers to his teachings.

  Mark Waid

  Teaching, School, Successful

  4 Copy quote

• Knowing now what goes into making a successful artist, it's disheartening.

  Sia Furler

  Successful, Artist, Knowing

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  56 Copy quote

  Show source

• Far from the richest rapper, but my biggest personal achievement thus far in my life has been retiring my mom early from her job at the Post Office. It's a tiny payback for the sacrifices she made that allowed me to chase a far-fetched dream of becoming a successful artist. I'm forever grateful.

  J. Cole

  Mom, Dream, Jobs

  "J. Cole tributes his mom Kay Cole in Born Sinner series" by Nadeska Alexis, www.mtv.com. May 8, 2013.

  42 Copy quote

  Show source

• It doesn't take much to be a successful artist-all you need to do is dedicate your entire life to it.

  Banksy

  Successful, Artist, Needs

  28 Copy quote

• If you're not a successful artist it's your fault.

  Bob Lefsetz

  Successful, Artist, Faults

  6 Copy quote

• I think a lot of the more successful artists of our time basically have barracudas for managers

  Robben Ford

  Music, Successful, Artist

  47 Copy quote

• There is nothing fiercer than a failed artist. The energy remains, but, having no outlet, it implodes in a great black fart of rage which smokes up all the inner windows of the soul. Horrible as successful artists often are, there is nothing crueler or more vain than a failed artist.

  Erica Jong

  Successful, Artist, Soul

  Erica Jong (2013). “Fear of Flying: 40th Anniversary Edition”, p.210, Open Road Media

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• The one thing I've learned in the last ten years is that successful artists don't get paid to write and sing songs, they get paid for the psychological roller coaster they're going to have to ride. That's the hard work.

  Enrique Iglesias

  Song, Hard Work, Writing

  52 Copy quote